


Paper Hearts

by tunamayo



Category: Free!
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 05:23:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17781362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tunamayo/pseuds/tunamayo
Summary: Unexpected Valentine’s Day events cause Haru and Makoto to confront each other about the feelings they’ve always been holding on to.





	Paper Hearts

Haru breathes a sigh of relief when he reaches the park and sees Makoto take a seat at the worn wooden table under the trellis, the nearby scattered streetlights wrapping him in their soft glow. The line at the convenience store had been unexpectedly long, and he didn’t want to keep Makoto waiting—even if there had been more than a handful of occasions when Haru was the one waiting on Makoto.

The park next to Haru’s apartment building can look a little ominous and unwelcoming during these colder months, especially after the sun has set, when the bare trees that fill the area spill their unsightly spindly shadows over the ground. But to Haru, these are the best times, when it’s quiet, and no one is around to bother him with their presence.

And in such a permeable silence, Haru’s hurried footsteps are deafening. Makoto turns to face their source, knowing already that it’s Haru based on the rhythm of his gait. Before he even utters a word, his face gives away exactly what Haru knew he was going to say as soon as he walked out the door of his apartment.

“Haru! You really should be wearing a jacket.”

The weather had been rather warm the last couple of days, though perhaps it is a little too chilly to be without a jacket. But he’s not going to admit that. “My shirt is thick, so it’s fine,” is all he replies. “Besides, aren’t you hot in all of that?” he asks, motioning to the scarf wrapped loosely around Makoto’s neck as he walks around to sit on the opposite side of the table.

“You’re right.” He smiles before slipping it off and leaning forward to wrap it around Haru’s neck instead.

“Oi!” Heat immediately rises to Haru’s face, though he doesn’t think this is how Makoto was expecting the scarf to help warm him up. Or maybe it _was_ an intended consequence, seeing as how Makoto seems to be quite skillful in the art of making Haru blush. Even more likely, knowing Makoto, he only wore the scarf because he knew Haru wouldn’t be wearing a jacket.

“Your cheeks are all red, Haru. You really were cold, weren’t you?”

Haru looks away, knowing full well that Makoto knows why his face is flushed. “You’re wasting time.”

“Right, right. Let’s eat,” he laughs, forgoing any further teasing only because he does need to be leaving soon.

The two often meet up at Haru’s apartment for dinner together after Makoto finishes his part-time job, but tonight, Makoto has a report to start—and finish, he had revealed, when he spoke with Haru over the phone that afternoon—so he doesn’t have much time to spare. 

As Haru reaches into the plastic bag, he hesitates for a moment. “You’re not already full on valentine chocolate, are you? Do you even have any left?”

Makoto laughs at Haru’s jab, thinking he probably deserves it for the bit with the scarf. “I really didn’t receive as much as I did in high school. The kids all gave me some, though!”

“The kids themselves or their mothers?” Haru teases further, having seen with his own two eyes the way some of the parents interact with Makoto when they pick up their kids from swim practice.

Makoto reaches for the bag of food, completely ignoring Haru with his words but blushing nonetheless.

Because of the nature of the holiday, Haru figured that Makoto probably wouldn’t be eating very well today, so he didn’t pay too much mind to what food he grabbed from the store. Usually, he prefers that they both eat a healthy dinner, but today he supposes that the pork buns, fried chicken, and potato chips are fine to indulge in.

While Makoto pulls out the food and divides it between them, Haru reaches into his backpack and pulls out a small golden box stamped with Godiva and a red glossy bag with pink polka dots. Ever since they were kids, Haru always gave Makoto his valentine chocolate. Makoto felt rather guilty taking the handmade kind, but Haru insisted he’d just throw it away, so it was better than wasting it.

“Oh, thanks! Godiva? Kind of fancy...” Makoto says, accepting both gifts. “Who gave you that?” He’s genuinely curious, as Haru never talks about any of his friends aside from his swimming teammates, and he definitely never mentioned any girls. Makoto would have remembered that.

“I let her borrow a pen once for an exam,” Haru replies. “It was actually your pen that got mixed with my stuff, so the chocolate kind of does belong to you.” Somehow, he and Makoto always end up with each other’s stationery, a consequence of studying together so frequently. He can’t really tell the difference between his and Makoto’s pens, aside from the chew marks Makoto sometimes leaves on his when he’s thinking deeply.

Makoto places the chocolate inside his own bag and thinks back to high school. There was one girl, Makoto never found out who she was, but for those three years, she’d make the most delicious chocolate truffles for Haru. He starts to laugh at himself for being a little saddened by the realization he’ll never taste those again.

“What?” Haru asks, wondering what could be funny about chocolate.

“What?”

“You’re smiling.”

“I was just thinking about Valentine's Day at high school. It’s nothing. Anyway, thanks for the food.”

Haru’s cheeks have no sooner returned to their natural color when here he goes blushing again, and Makoto wonders what could be embarrassing about his innocuous reply but says nothing more.

They sit and eat, chatting idly, wasting time but not too much. Aside from passing cars and occasional conversation, the rest of their surroundings pay them the favor of silence.

Makoto jumps, startled, when his watch beeps. 

It signals the changing hour, signals a time to perhaps part ways for the night. But first it signals Makoto to wipe his hands, suddenly sweaty, on his jeans.

Haru stands and starts to walk by.

“Don’t leave yet!” Makoto worriedly shouts, reaching out to stop him, meaning to grab his wrist but accidentally catching his hand. He lets go immediately, realizing with great embarrassment that he hastily misinterpreted.

“I was only going to throw away our trash.”

“Sorry!”

Haru takes a step forward and then another back. “Is that ok with you? Do I have your permission?” he teases, lips curling into a playful smile.

“Yes,” Makoto laughs, feeling exceedingly silly. He knows Haru wouldn’t just leave without even saying anything, but when he saw him get up and walk away, he felt as though his moment was also leaving. Once it was gone, there wouldn’t be another chance.

Haru returns to the table and sits down. Even though it’s getting late, he supposes that Makoto, based on his outburst, has more he wants to talk about. He notices something in Makoto’s hands, but can’t make out what it is.

With no time for Haru to guess, Makoto reaches across the table and sets down a red origami heart. “I wanted to give you something. Well, because you never get anything on Valentine’s Day. I mean, you get chocolate, but you never keep it for yourself, so it’s like you don’t get anything.”

Haru smiles and picks up the unexpected gift. It looks quite well done. He can imagine Makoto practicing over and over, trying to get it right, his face lighting up when he got the hang of it. He probably wanted to show Haru right away but couldn’t ruin the surprise.

“I did my best but… my hands aren’t exactly good at that kind of stuff.” Makoto holds up his hands for a moment, palms facing out toward Haru, and gives a nervous laugh. He truly wanted to give Haru something beautiful, but this topped his abilities.

“Thank you,” Haru replies, modestly but effectively.

It seems that he accepts the gift, and that’s all that Makoto could have hoped for. Elation runs through him, warming him in no time at all. “It’s not exactly useful, but I figured you’d enjoy this more than chocolate.” He stops himself before telling Haru not to feel obligated to keep it, because he knows Haru absolutely will keep it simply because he wants to.

“I think I have a picture frame it will fit in.”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Makoto laughs, looking down sheepishly at the table while he rubs the back of his neck.

Haru moves his eyes to Makoto, disappointed that he can’t meet his downturned gaze. “I’m not making fun…” The piece of origami is cute, and a nice gesture, and for some reason he feels like there’s a greater meaning behind it than he can grasp right now. He’s not sure that Makoto heard his earnest reply because it’s too embarrassing to say it any louder.

“Well, I should go,” Makoto says, sighing. “I really don’t want to write this paper.”

“You shouldn’t have procrastinated.”

“Yes, yes. Thanks again for dinner, and for the chocolate of course.”

Haru blushes once more. “It’s nothing… I’ll see you at the pool in the morning?”

“Ah, unless I’m up too late writing my report. I’ll text you before I go to sleep to let you know.”

Haru nods and returns Makoto’s small smile and wave before heading to his apartment. As he walks back clutching the origami gift, he fondly recalls when the two of them were kids. It was Haru’s mom who first showed them how to fold the paper into shapes, and she was particularly good at it. Sometimes she even let them use “the special pretty paper,” as Makoto called it.

The things they made became cute little keepsakes, reminders of their days spent playing together, and Haru wonders what happened to all the little objects that got left behind in his room. Even though Makoto’s didn’t always turn out the best, he was proud of them. _As long as Haru-chan thinks they’re nice!_ was what he had said back then.

Haru makes a mental to note to ask his mom about it later; chances are, she has a box filled with them somewhere in the house, or at the very least, she took pictures. He’s sure those memories are what inspired Makoto to make this gift for him.

He climbs the last flight of stairs and walks to the end of the corridor, ready for a bath and a good sleep as he walks through the door. But before that, Haru wonders if he still remembers how to fold an origami heart himself. It’s one of the first shapes he remembers learning so many years ago.

He carefully sets the heart on his desk and rips out a blank piece of paper from his sketchbook.

Start with a triangle; he remembers that much. Fold here and here… no, not there. Ah, that’s right. Now flip it over, and then the edges.

It’s not bad. He smiles at his efforts, feeling stupidly proud of his memory. He sets it next to Makoto’s, making it truly look like it was made by an expert compared to Haru’s quick attempt, and that’s when he notices. It was hard to see in the low light outside, but the heart is made from a piece of beautiful deep red paper with thin gold foil designs.

He inspects the back and sees something peculiar. It looks like the surface is raised slightly with faint indentations. Haru ponders for a moment. Destroying this seems cruel, but he’ll be able to fold it back up once he inspects it further.

Carefully, he begins unfolding, and recognizes Makoto’s handwriting.

“Remember all the origami we gave each other when we were kids?” he wrote. “Fish and frogs and flowers… I know it’s silly, but it’s Valentine’s Day, so I’m giving you my heart, Haru-chan. Please hold on to it for me.”

Tears immediately sting Haru’s eyes, and his own heart tightens in his chest.

_I’m giving you my heart, Haru-chan._

There’s no way to misinterpret that, right? He’s not reading too much into it or anything, is he?

Haru looks to the door for answers, but it’s a door, so it doesn’t give any solid advice. The train station is so close to the park. The likelihood that Makoto isn’t already on his train back home is smaller than small. Still, he supposes it’s worth that smaller than small chance, so he hurriedly refolds the origami and runs out the door.

It’s probably stupid to run, but he has to. He only gets as far as the park when he sees someone else who also appears to be in a hurry running toward him.

He stops. 

It’s Makoto. 

Maybe he forgot something on the table. Did he leave his phone again? Makoto must recognize Haru, too, because he also comes to a stop. They’re at a standstill, staring, with no choice but to walk toward each other, both of them wondering what the other is doing here right now.

Haru wastes no time and holds up the paper heart, being more direct than he thinks he’s ever been with Makoto. “Your message… why didn’t you tell me?”

Instead of answering, Makoto holds up the bag of chocolates in their polka-dotted bag that Haru gave him. “Why didn’t _you_ tell _me_?”

“You only just figured that out?” Haru asks, unable to suppress his smile, as all of his uneasiness immediately vanishes. Makoto could be so stupid, he thinks, in the nicest way possible. But then again, it turns out Haru was just as dense.

Makoto laughs; he could be quite stupid sometimes. On his way to the train station, he couldn’t help but get out the chocolate. Just one piece, he told himself. And that one piece really was all he needed. As soon as he bit down, he recognized the chocolate truffle he was lamenting the loss of earlier that night.

He stopped. It was definitely the chocolate Haru had given him those past three years in high school. The chocolate that some unknown girl had made for him. But, if this was the same chocolate, that means it wasn’t "some girl." Those three years, Haru must have made Makoto chocolate for Valentine’s Day. 

He had to know for sure, so he turned around and ran back to Haru’s apartment, hoping to catch him before he got in the bath.

And here he is, confirming Makoto’s hopeful conclusion. 

Haru holds out his hand, clutching something, looking away in embarrassment. The overhead streetlight shines directly across his face, making his blush unavoidably apparent.

Makoto slowly reaches out and takes it, his hand trembling with a nervous excitement. 

A white origami heart.

Immediately, a single teardrop falls and spatters against it. “This looks even worse than the one I made,” Makoto laughs, thankful that the other tears welling up in his eyes seem to be staying put.

“Shut up, I did it from memory, just to see if I could. I would have taken time to redo it if I had known you weren’t getting on the train. Anyway… yours was rather good.”

“I’ll hold on to this, Haru-chan.”

“Let me make you a better one.”

Makoto holds it gently with both hands, as gently as he’s always tried to handle Haru’s heart. It’s wrinkled, with light creases all over, the unsightly paper slightly rippling under the wet teardrop. It looks like it’s been through hardships, but in the end, it overcame everything. “I like this one.”

As quiet as it was while they were sharing dinner, the air around them is somehow even more silent now. No cars dare pass by. Even the wind is still. Their hearts too stop beating in the time it takes Makoto to reach forward and grab Haru’s wrist, sliding his hand down to grasp Haru’s.

It signals the evolution of their relationship, signals that they’re finally moving forward with each other like they always wanted.

They lean forward to kiss, softly and surely. Only their hands and their lips touch, as they hold on to each other’s heart. It’s quiet, still so quiet, but Haru knows they’re saying so many things to each other.

They part, savoring the silence for just a bit longer, before Makoto’s small adorable giggle springs forward, eyes closing as they always do when he looks especially happy. And that’s absolutely how he feels right now, heart beating giddily as he suspects Haru’s is, too.

Haru clears his throat to make sure he remembers just how to form words. “I was ready to run all the way to the station, you know. Kiss you on the platform.”

“Oh? Well, I was planning to run all the way to your apartment and burst through your front door.”

“I guess we both ruined a possible dramatic moment.”

“Hmm, it’s better this way."

“I think so, too.”

Makoto gives Haru’s hand a squeeze before releasing it, reluctantly. The last thing he wants to do right now is go home and write a report about plant nutrition for his biology class, but if he hadn’t put it off for the last two weeks, it wouldn’t be an issue.

“You know,” Haru starts, “if you had started your paper sooner—“

“I know, I know!” Makoto laughs. “But I’ll focus really hard so I can get it done and sleep early.”

“I’ll see you in the morning, then?”

“Definitely.”

Makoto’s grin stretches across his face. “And thank you for the chocolate.”

“You’ve said that twice already.”

“That was before I knew they were from you,” Makoto replies, his face soft and sincere. “It’s a different thank you now.”

Haru nods his understanding, and instead of going their separate ways, they feel themselves drawn together again to share another kiss. It’s amazing how familiar it already feels. Haru wants to kiss him ten more times, and he realizes that he should stop and buy some lip balm at the store tomorrow.

“We’ll kiss again in the morning, ok?” Makoto says, knowing that otherwise they’ll stand here all night, smiling like idiots every time their lips meet each other, again and again until the sun rises.

“Fine. I guess it will give you something to look forward to.”

Makoto laughs, as if seeing Haru isn’t enough to look forward to, as if it hasn't always been enough. “Since tomorrow’s Friday, do you want to stay over at my place?”

Haru absolutely can’t say no to the invitation. “I’d like that.”

“You know what we can do?” Makoto asks, smiling.

Haru suddenly feels a bit nervous. “W—what’s that?”

“We can fold more origami! I bought a bunch of different paper. Remember when we made a whole aquarium’s worth of sea creatures?”

Haru laughs, relieved, as all the blood that left his face comes rushing back. He almost forgot that it’s Makoto he’s talking to. It took them nearly twenty years just to share a first kiss; chances are, things are going to continue to move slowly between them, though hopefully a little faster than that.

Makoto furrows his brow. “You don’t want to?”

“No, I do. Let’s make some to send to Ran and Ren.”

“Ok!”

Makoto turns to look behind him. This is definitely later than he was intending to stay, but it’s so hard to leave.

Haru knows exactly how he feels. He wants to tell Makoto to forget about his paper. Who cares about plant nutrition anyway? Just come over, stay the night, we’ll skip class tomorrow, even, and have a nice long weekend to ourselves. “Let me walk you to the station,” he settles on. A fair compromise, he thinks.

But Makoto shuts him down with a laugh. “We’ll linger there too long!”

Haru pouts; he’s right, but it’s not fair that Makoto is being the sensible one. This side of himself is unfamiliar, acting so irrationally and impulsively, but he doesn’t necessarily dislike it. It's a bit exciting, as long as things don’t get too out of hand. Suddenly, he feels Makoto’s arms around him, as if he could see the apprehension on Haru’s face, and he probably could. Just like that, he feels calm again; of course Makoto will always be there to ground him.

They stay wrapped in each other’s arms for a moment longer. At this point, Haru’s not sure if the universe is just doing them the favor of offering the utmost privacy, or if he’s so lost in just the two of them that he doesn’t notice whether or not people have been walking by.

Makoto gives one last squeeze and one last smile. “Ok, then. Goodnight, Haru-chan.”

Inhaling sharply, Haru suddenly smells Makoto’s cologne and realizes he’s still wearing his scarf. “Don’t leave yet,” he says, taking off the scarf and throwing it over Makoto’s head. He keeps a grip on the two ends of the scarf, pulling Makoto in for another kiss, this one quick though delightfully triumphant.

“Haru!” Makoto laughs, completely taken by surprise.

“That was smooth, right?”

“Very!”

Haru leans into Makoto’s chest for a moment, embarrassed by his own boldness. He knows Makoto really does have to go, so he gathers all his strength to send him on his way. “Goodnight, Makoto. See you tomorrow.”

As Haru watches him walk away, he takes Makoto’s paper heart and holds it to his chest. He feels his own heart flutter, as though it really is made of paper and a breeze swirls inside of him.

Since they were kids, he has always felt like his and Makoto’s hearts were connected to each other. Makoto’s could seem deceptively fragile, like a single sheet of paper, easy to rip and wrinkle. But the one he holds in his hands right now feels tough and formidable, just like Haru always truly thought it was. For Makoto to write that honest message, without knowing for sure that Haru could reciprocate those feelings, took real strength. 

Although, knowing Makoto, maybe he did know, deep in his heart, just like Haru probably did, too.

And Haru has seen into the very depths of that heart, whether Makoto showed them to him or not. He’s heard heartfelt words, spoken and unspoken. It’s a strong heart, no doubt, but a vulnerable one. And Makoto has given it to Haru and Haru alone, trusting him wholeheartedly to never damage it. And like he always intended to do, Haru will continue to keep it safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! <3


End file.
